The state's largest hospital union settled contracts with three Hudson County for-profit hospitals in recent days. It is still in negotiations with four Hackensack Meridian health facilities.

Members of the union, Health Professionals and Allied Employees, ratified contracts with Hudson Regional Hospital in Secaucus and two CarePoint hospitals, Christ Hospital in Jersey City and Bayonne Medical Center.

The new owner that bought Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center in January and renamed it Hudson Regional Hospital immediately established a better relationship with the union than had existed previously, said Ann Twomey, the union's president.

The 231-bed Hudson Regional is run by a company called NJMHMC, which is owned by Yan Moshe, a Long Island real estate developer.

Health Professional and Allied Employees (HPAE) union President Ann Twomey speaks during a rally held outside of HMH Palisades Medical Center on Wednesday, June 27, 2018. The HPAE have raised concerns of nurse-to-patient ratios among other issues with contracts which are set to expire July 30. (Photo: Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com)

Union members ratified a three-year contract there that includes "long-overdue wage increases … and health insurance benefits that will give health care workers greater access to providers," Twomey said.

Reductions in health coverage had been a major point of contention with the previous owner and was one of the counts in a complaint brought by the National Labor Relations Board.

"He's made a good-faith effort to restore the hospital and revive its good reputation, and we're appreciative," Twomey said of Moshe. "They've lived up to what they said they were going to do. They're credible."

The contract includes across-the-board pay increases of 2½ percent, retroactive to Jan. 1, for nurses, health professionals, technicians and service workers, and raises of 2 percent annually in 2019 and 2020. In addition, employees who were hired before March 1, 2017, and didn't receive step increases for years of service will receive bonuses of $750 or $375, depending on whether they work full time or part time.

A joint labor-management committee will address short staffing, health and safety concerns and working conditions, Twomey said. The contract was ratified Thursday.

Bayonne nurses will receive pay hikes of 2.5 percent if they work per diem or are no longer entitled to step increases because of their seniority, and 1 percent if they receive step increases for years of service. Pay for bonus shifts will increase by $20 an hour, and tuition reimbursement will increase by $1,000.

Christ Hospital nurses will receive 2.7 percent increases in the first year of the contract, followed by 2½ percent hikes in years two and three for staff members who aren't eligible for step increases and 1½ percent for staff members who do receive step increases.

Nicole Mankowski, president of the Christ Hospital local, called it a "fair contract, which ensures we as nurses can continue to advocate for our patients’ safety and our rights." John Bauer, president of the Bayonne local, said his hospital's contract "offers benefits to help in recruiting and retaining experienced professionals, while protecting their rights as advocates for safe patient care.”

Meanwhile, negotiations continue on behalf of nurses and technicians at Palisades Medical Center and its affiliated nursing home, the Harborage, in North Bergen, and at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune and Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin, all of which are operated by Hackensack Meridian Health.

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